Holier Than Thou - Pre-Production Rehearsal

Bob Rock, who produced the Metallica album, thought that this track was about him. In fact it concerns singer James Hetfield's irritation with those in the music industry who are quick to point the finger at other people's mistakes.

In a 2001 interview for Playboy magazine, Hetfield rated this as "one of the sillier songs."

Rock recalled to in a 2011 interview with Music Radar how he originally saw this as a single release. Said the producer: "The band still teases me about this song because it was the first track that jumped out at me as a potential single. I should point out that at this stage in cutting the record there were no lyrics, so initially, something about the song spoke to me. It rocked in a very aggressive way that said 'Metallica' to me. As we got deeper into the record, the tide turned and other songs blossomed and became bigger and turned into things like 'Enter Sandman.', whereas Holier Than Though… great song, not a single. I still like its energy and tempo. It's got such a lethal bite to it. Every time I see the band, they always say the same thing: 'Holier Than Thou, huh?' They'll never let me live it down. What can I say?"